Laura Zaks is a food security specialist and an advocate for creative climate solutions, working to advance equity in agriculture and food systems. She is passionate about creating resilient relationships to the natural world. She is also devoted to wellness and serves as a yoga and meditation instructor, a Reiki practitioner and Urban Zen Integrative Therapist. She supports people in reaching health and wellness goals, and simultaneously works to strengthen their relationships to the food system and the planet.
Human health and our current environmental crisis are intricately linked, as a healthy body requires a healthy environment. At this crucial tipping point, simply minimizing harm to the planet is not enough. It is time to produce food in ways that proactively restore balance, protect biodiversity, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Producing food this way has a profound impact on human health—for producers and consumers alike. Addressing wellness without addressing our connection to ecology falls short. In fact, human health begins with conscious cultivation. All of us play a role in this on some level, from how we shop and eat, to how we vote and how we teach future generations.
Laura has a Master’s degree in International Affairs where she gained expertise in the intersection of agriculture, economic development, food security, nutrition and public health. She is skilled in program management, proposal-writing, fundraising, teaching, conducting workshops, and developing strategic partnerships for causes dear to her heart. Laura also holds certifications from several yoga schools including Yoga People, Yoga Shanti, Yoga Synthesis and Karma Kids, as well as the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where she studied dietary theories and lifestyle coaching methods. Laura is a graduate of the Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate Program at the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies. As an undergraduate student she co-founded a cooking tutorial on ethnic cuisine, sparking a life-long love of being in the kitchen. She speaks five languages and loves to create plant-based recipes for her family.
Drawing on this background, she works to share transformative knowledge about climate-friendly nutrition, movement, mindfulness, and healing with whole foods through practical workshops, writing, research, teaching, and advocacy. Laura is an eternal student, an avid reader, a skilled time-manager, an efficient organizer of many projects, and is devoted to a making the world a better place.
Human health and our current environmental crisis are intricately linked, as a healthy body requires a healthy environment. At this crucial tipping point, simply minimizing harm to the planet is not enough. It is time to produce food in ways that proactively restore balance, protect biodiversity, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Producing food this way has a profound impact on human health—for producers and consumers alike. Addressing wellness without addressing our connection to ecology falls short. In fact, human health begins with conscious cultivation. All of us play a role in this on some level, from how we shop and eat, to how we vote and how we teach future generations.
Laura has a Master’s degree in International Affairs where she gained expertise in the intersection of agriculture, economic development, food security, nutrition and public health. She is skilled in program management, proposal-writing, fundraising, teaching, conducting workshops, and developing strategic partnerships for causes dear to her heart. Laura also holds certifications from several yoga schools including Yoga People, Yoga Shanti, Yoga Synthesis and Karma Kids, as well as the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where she studied dietary theories and lifestyle coaching methods. Laura is a graduate of the Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate Program at the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies. As an undergraduate student she co-founded a cooking tutorial on ethnic cuisine, sparking a life-long love of being in the kitchen. She speaks five languages and loves to create plant-based recipes for her family.
Drawing on this background, she works to share transformative knowledge about climate-friendly nutrition, movement, mindfulness, and healing with whole foods through practical workshops, writing, research, teaching, and advocacy. Laura is an eternal student, an avid reader, a skilled time-manager, an efficient organizer of many projects, and is devoted to a making the world a better place.